Mexico's flooding 'extraordinarily grave'

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Nearly 80 percent of the Mexican state of Tabasco was underwater in the worst flooding in 50 years and more heavy rain was forecast during the weekend.

"The situation is extraordinarily grave," said President Felipe Calderon, noting more than 1 million people are in need of water, medical supplies, clothing and cooking items.

Authorities said the situation bears similarities to the hurricane-caused floods in New Orleans in 2005, especially in Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, evacuated after dams on the Grijalva River broke and flooded the city, the Voice of America reported. One death has been confirmed.

Thousands of people in the region are trapped in their homes, tens of thousands more are homeless and 100 percent of the crops are lost, Tabasco Gov. Andres Granier told the BBC.

"The scene here is terrible, it's biblical," Javier Velazco, of the Red Cross in Tabasco, told the Los Angeles Times.

Amid reports of looting, the government sent 1,000 soldiers to the region Saturday to reinforce a contingent of 5,000 protecting stores and other property, The New York Times said.

The flooding resulted from five days of heavy rain brought on by a cold front last weekend.

Four people were reported killed in heavy rain in the neighboring state of Chiapas, the Times said.